Crime

Crime Statistics for 2017

Part I Crimes occur with sufficient frequency to provide an adequate basis for comparison. These totals are submitted monthly to the State of California Department of Justice where they are recorded and then forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigations for their annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR).

What is Uniform Crime Reporting?

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) is a statewide law enforcement program designed to provide a nationwide view of crime based on the submission of statistics by law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Each agency is required to report monthly crime statistics to the California Department of Justice, which will in turn be forwarded to the FBI. The FBI then uses this information to publish their annual Uniform Crime Report.

For practical purposes, the reporting of offenses known is limited to the crime classifications listed in the Part I Crimes Summary because they are crimes most likely to be reported and crimes that occur with sufficient frequency to provide an adequate basis for comparison.

The following table includes annual totals for the 2016 and 2017 Part I Crimes in the City of Elk Grove:

Part 1 Crimes

2016

2017

Homicide

1

3

Rape (see below)

51

41

Robbery

96

98

Assault (aggravated)

447

424

Part 1 Violent Crime Totals

595

566

Burglary

375

369

Larceny – Theft

1,797

1,691

Vehicle – Theft

208

212

Part 1 Property Crime Totals

2,380

2,272

*Rape Definition Change*

On January 1, 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) implemented a revised definition of rape within their Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program as recommended by the FBI Advisory Policy Board and U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women.

Prior to January 1, 2013, rape was defined in the National UCR Program as the "carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will." The new definition is “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” These are significant changes that broaden the scope of the crime, providing the first revisions to the definition of rape in over 80 years.

This expanded definition will allow the Elk Grove Police Department to report more accurate rape offense data throughout the UCR Program to ensure all applicable rape offenses and all victims of any gender or age are accounted for. As a result of the revised definition, we expect to see an increase in reported rape offense data once the law enforcement community makes the necessary reporting changes to collect revised rape statistics. However, this does not necessarily mean there is an increase in rapes or violent crime in general.

Online Crime Alerts and Maps

The Elk Grove Police Department has partnered with CrimeReports.com to make crime statistics available to the public via the internet. The service is free to the general public, and allows members of the community to access statistical information that show locations of recent crimes and crime trends taking place in Elk Grove.